Total pages in book: 138
Estimated words: 129687 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 648(@200wpm)___ 519(@250wpm)___ 432(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 129687 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 648(@200wpm)___ 519(@250wpm)___ 432(@300wpm)
The silence that followed was nerve-wracking, and Pippi found herself holding her breath. Acheron Simonides might be many things, but he had always been fair and honorable. Hopefully, those two traits would make themselves felt today and subsequently persuade him to act in her favor.
"Point taken, Ms. Jones."
Thank You, Lord! She felt slightly dizzy with relief, but just as she allowed herself to breathe again, she heard him say decisively, "We'll protect your privacy by having dinner at my place instead."
Dinner? With him? At his place? Her mind became a complete blank. That would...work, wouldn't it? But then she saw the way he was still smirking and shook the traitorous thoughts away. Oh, for the love of God, Pippilotta Jones, stop acting like a shameless hussy where this man is concerned!
Acheron saw the girl open her mouth, and knowing she only intended to refuse him, he said softly, "Don't answer me with what you think you should say, Ms. Jones."
And in a blink of an eye, the chair between them was suddenly out of the way, and Pippi suddenly found herself being backed against the wall as he advanced like an unstoppable force of power, heat, and seduction.
"Answer me with what you want to say."
He looked down at her and her breath caught. With his too-gorgeous face filling her vision, it was easy to imagine how it would feel to have her life revolve around a man like him.
Heaven and hell, she thought helplessly, but more than that, it would mean losing complete control - and that scared her above most.
"I can't," she choked out.
"Why can't you? We both know you want to."
She shook her head. "I don't—-" His body moved an inch closer, and it made her wish she could melt into the wall. "Please, Mr. Simonides—-"
Acheron relished the way his blood heated at the husky plea in her voice. "I like the sound of you begging, Ms. Jones."
Pippi almost threw her hands up in despair. So on top of being the most seductively beautiful man alive, this man turned out to be a sadist as well? "I'm not—-" She choked off when his hands slammed against the wall, and she found herself trapped in the most deliciously agonizing way possible.
Lud, lud, lud, this could not be happening to her. It just couldn't!
His head started to lower, and she panicked, the words flying out of her mouth. "I'm scared!" It was a brainless, last-ditch effort to save herself from being consumed, and she squeezed her eyes shut, knowing how stupid and hopeless an attempt it was.
She waited with bated breath, dreading the inevitable, but the moments passed, and - nothing?
Pippi slowly opened her eyes.
A good three feet now separated them, and Acheron Simonides was staring at her with an unreadable expression.
"There's nothing for you to be scared of," he said in a clipped voice. "I give you my word."
And then he was walking away without looking back, leaving a slightly stunned and thoroughly bewildered Pippi in his wake. What just happened?
Acheron's mood grew increasingly black with every step he took.
I'm scared!
No girl had ever said such words to him before, and regardless of Ms. Jones' true nature, he was experienced enough to know that the fear in her voice had been real.
He had scared her, and he probably was still scaring her.
The right thing to do at this point would be to forget she ever existed. It was clear that she wasn't cut out to have an affair with him, just as it was equally clear that she didn't have the strength to resist him all the way.
If he continued pursuing her, it was only a matter of time before she became his.
But at what cost?
Acheron had just stepped inside the elevator when he heard a husky, feminine voice say, "Hold please." He stiffened, knowing exactly who it was, even before a familiar waft of perfume hit him as a woman joined him inside.
Was this coincidence or the heavens warning him from repeating the same mistakes?
As soon as the doors closed, he heard her speak again. "Hello, Acheron."
"Hello, Millie." His tone was pleasant, but his face was deliberately impassive as he met her gaze.
Millicent Longbourn was still as beautiful as he remembered her, and the black dress she wore was a feast for any man's eyes, with its low-dipping neckline leaving little to the imagination. Although she no longer heated his blood the way it had in the first few days of their affair, it was still easy to recognize what it was about the sultry brunette that had once captivated his attention. There was a wantonness about her that made one imagine she would do anything asked of her in bed - for the right man.
It was just too bad she had insisted, he thought, despite all his warnings from the start, on seeing him along those lines.